81-year-old Halifax dentist wants assault charges involving former child patients tossed

An 81-year-old Halifax dentist accused of physically assaulting child patients decades ago can't mount a proper defence, according to his lawyer, because records have been destroyed and former assistants who might help his case can't be called to testify.

Dr. Errol Gaum has pleaded not guilty to eight charges that he assaulted six complainants in the 1970s and 1980s, and is scheduled to go on trial next month in Halifax provincial court.

On Friday, his lawyer Stan MacDonald urged Judge Elizabeth Buckle to stay the charges and order an end to the prosecution, arguing his client can't have a fair trial because so much evidence has been lost over the years.

Over the course of his nearly 50-year career, Gaum had roughly 90,000 patient visits to his dentistry offices, according to court records, most of them one-time appointments for specialty treatment where the patient was given a sedative.

The criminal allegations outlined in court records say the complainants told police they were slapped, and in one case had their face hit against a sink, an injury that required stitches.

Dentist testifies

Gaum testified Friday that he doesn't remember any of the complainants. He also told the court that he frequently administered a sedative called Mellaril, which he said would cause some children to hallucinate.

"The child would start to laugh and say, 'Oh, look, the assistant has an eye in the middle of her forehead,'" he testified.

All patient records from the time, which the court was told were prepared by assistants and outlined the treatments, medications given and how the child got along, were destroyed after seven years.

MacDonald said without them, it's impossible to know whether any of the complainants were sedated and exactly how much medication was given, preventing the defence from calling experts who could testify about the effects on a child.

Not only does Gaum not remember ever treating the complainants, the court was told he can't remember the names of the dental hygienists and assistants who worked for him during this time.

Police were only able to find one former employee from the era, according to court records. She told police it was rare for Gaum to treat a patient alone, and she never witnessed him hit or slap a child.

Five of the six complainants told police there was a dental assistant or other employee present. MacDonald said it's clear there are former employees who witnessed Gaum's treatment of children, but he can't remember their names, which means the defence can't find them.

The patient records are important, MacDonald said, because determining whether the complainants were in fact Gaum's patients is a real issue. In two of the cases, complainants told police they were treated by Gaum at offices where he had never worked.

He also noted comments from a police detective investigating the case who told one of the complainants: "We do have people saying, you know, 'I had a bad experience at the dentist 40 years ago, it must be him.'"

Crown prosecutor Laura Lindsay argued Friday that Buckle shouldn't take the "drastic" step of ordering the stay, saying Gaum isn't entitled to a "perfect" trial, only a fair one. It's common, she said, for trials to go ahead without documents or in cases where witnesses can't be found.

She said potential testimony from former employees and the contents of patient records were "speculative" and said Gaum still has avenues for his defence.

Class-action lawsuit in background

MacDonald also noted some of the complainants discussed suing Gaum on Facebook. In 2020, a class-action lawsuit was launched against the dentist. The lawyer suggested Friday there was "a financial motive in the background." 

The class-action stalled this summer after a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge refused to certify it. Last month, a new lawsuit was filed against Gaum involving 29 plaintiffs, although none of them are the complainants in the criminal case.

Gaum's dentistry licence was suspended in November 2020. The Provincial Dental Board of Nova Scotia did not reply Friday to a request for an update on his case.

The criminal case returns to court next Friday.